Wayne Garvie, head of entertainment, music and features at the BBC, has made the headlines with his outspoken criticism of Ardent Productions, headed by Prince Edward. Edward's dismal record, despite his silver spoon, makes Garvie's point that it takes " talent, drive and vision to succeed ". And he should know. He's got all three of them himself, in abundance.

Garvie (September 9 1969) is a hard-working, meticulous Virgo, a sign famous for its critical abilities, but he has both female planets in the flamboyant sign of the Leo Lion. This suggests he adores women and that female celebrities love him to bits, but it also gives him a populist appeal and an entertainer's instinct. Add to that a dose of persuasive, charmball Libra and this is a man who can skillfully talk things up and get everyone buzzing together. But we're not talking Butlins and happy-campers. This combination demands class and quality and the huge personal pride Garvie takes in his achievements may harbour a disdainful streak for anything he reckons is second-rate.

The toughness in his horoscope comes from a square contact of blitzkrieg Pluto to aggressive Mars in frank-and-fearless Sagittarius. This gives a crusading spirit and an inexhaustible energy, but also threatens an occasional outburst of fury. A person with this aspect " hates to do anything half way and has a propensity to cut to the core of any problem without flinching from the potential repercussions...there is also limitless courage and an unusual capacity for resourceful and decisive action in any emergency". (Stephen Arroyo).

This is a landmine configuration which can go off at any time. Greg Dyke needs to keep an eye on it because Garvie's Sagittarian Mars keys in dramatically with the BBC. It falls exactly on the BBC's Mercury (Incorporation January 1 1927), which is also Jupiter's degree in its first television broadcast (November 2 1936). These placings symbolise the BBC's public service role and although there may not be much evidence of this yet, in the long run Captain Garvie could end up on the front line of the BBC's fight for its freedom.

So has he been a loose cannon in the attack on Edward? There is a personal clash of styles here: Garvie and Edward, born six months apart, are on the other half of the zodiac circle from each other, so Garvie's sharp, perceptive Virgo Sun doesn't rate Edward's cushy-number Pisces and his vague, wishy-washy Mercury. What's fascinating in the astrological connections between them all - Garvie, Edward, the BBC - is that on this occasion, it looks like a case of his master's voice and Garvie has probably expressed a widely held semi-official view that cannot be said publicly. The incident presages a future pattern, one in which he seems certain to go far as a BBC mover and shaker. There is more contention to come next spring when his Mars runs riot again, but look out for his talents hitting the mark with popular programming in both October 2002 and throughout 2003. Jupiter brings him benefits then, both in and out of the BBC, through hiccups and upsets which befall others. It could knock out the competition in good time to help Wayne Garvie fulfil his destiny as a rising star.